Biography

I have research interests in the way in which different contexts affect learning and memory, and the mechanisms involved. Recently this has involved focusing on the way in which contexts influence memory, and using this as a way of developing an animal model of episodic memory.

Other interests include the way in which reward outcomes affect learning (for example, do we learn quicker for larger rewards than small rewards and do rewards drive learning faster than punishment)and the way in which social context affects learning and memory.

In addition I have a keen interest in the role of the cholinergic cells of the basal forebrain in learning and memory. These cells are intricately linked to the memory loss in Alzheimer's disease, and I have shown they may also be involved in other types of amnesia (such as medial temporal lobe amnesia).

Easton, A. & Gaffan, D. (2000). Amygdala and the memory of reward: the importance of fibres of passage from the basal forebrain. In The Amygdala: A Functional Analysis. Aggleton, J.P. Oxford: OUP. 569-586.